IT might have taken a little while, but it is safe to say that Alexander Isak has now arrived as a star Newcastle United striker.

The Magpies’ club-record signing has suffered an injury-hit introduction into life on Tyneside, but his two goals in last night’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest cemented his status as a new fans’ favourite and lifted Newcastle back to within a point of the top four.

Having volleyed home a first-half equaliser to cancel out Emmanuel Dennis’ opener for Forest, Isak held his nerve to convert a stoppage-time penalty after his header had led to Moussa Niakhate being penalised for offside.

While the winner came late, it was no more than Newcastle deserved given their dominance over the previous 90 minutes, which had seen them twice hit the crossbar in the first half and have a goal controversially ruled out by VAR in the second. On a night that looked like ending in frustration, Isak struck to secure a merited success.

Newcastle were the better side throughout at the City Ground, although it initially looked as though their early failure to make their superiority count might prove costly.

Joe Willock should have done much better in the sixth minute, but after bursting onto Jacob Murphy’s square ball, the midfielder could only fire a first-time effort over the crossbar.

The woodwork was shaking six minutes later, although there would have been a large slice of fortune had Newcastle been claiming the lead. Keylor Navas parried Isak’s shot after the Swede had been set up by Kieran Trippier’s intelligent free-kick, with the ball rebounding off a helpless Renan Lodi before ricocheting against the crossbar.

It felt as though Newcastle really needed to capitalise on their early opportunities, and sure enough, they succumbed to the most unexpected of sucker punches as Forest claimed a surprise lead shortly before the half-hour mark.

The Magpies’ concession was entirely of their own making, with Sven Botman erring badly. The centre-half appeared to have the situation in hand as he chased a long ball into Newcastle’s left-back channel, but without taking a look at what was around him, he rolled an ill-advised back-pass towards his own area. A loitering Dennis gleefully seized possession, and was able to loft a deft chip beyond a stranded Nick Pope.

The goal was harsh on the visitors, and they were cursing their luck again as they struck the woodwork for a second time ten minutes before the break. Longstaff’s first-time shot took a deflection after Murphy pulled the ball back into his path, and the ball looped against the crossbar.

Newcastle merited an equaliser, and it arrived courtesy of a wonderful finish from Isak in first-half stoppage time. Willock’s cross was directed behind his team-mate, but Isak flicked out a foot to direct an improvised volley into the net via the inside of the far post.

Whereas Isak, Willock and Murphy had all provided a real threat before the break, Allan Saint-Maximin looked badly out of sorts, and it was no surprise to see the out-of-form Frenchman fail to reappear for the second half.

The choice of Anderson as his left-wing replacement was rather more of a surprise, but the youngster almost scored within three minutes of his introduction as he met Murphy’s cross with a goal-bound volley that Navas turned over the bar.

Navas made another important save on the hour mark, tipping Bruno Guimaraes’ rising drive over the top, and while the Forest goalkeeper was beaten midway through the second half, VAR came to his rescue.

Anderson thought he had claimed his first Newcastle goal as he headed home Isak’s cross, but Longstaff was deemed to have strayed marginally offside in the build-up to the goal. It was the kind of thing that would never have been spotted before the advent of VAR, but a series of checks resulted in Tierney being called over to his screen

Come stoppage time, however, the game’s other crucial refereeing decision was going in Newcastle’s favour. Niakhate raised his arm as Isak flicked a header towards goal, and the Swede made him pay from the spot.